costs significantly. Note that most scholarships from col- leges have conditions attached to them that must be fulfilled in order to keep them during the course of your degree, such as a certain grade point average or major requirement.
The right places to find scholarships If you don’t know where to look, finding outside scholar- ships as an international student can be quite stressful and frustrating. I began looking for scholarships as early as eighth grade. However, I couldn’t apply based on my age or country; therefore, I was ineligible for almost all of them. When I did find scholarships I could apply for, I had to pay to access them, which is not a wise deci- sion. You should never have to pay to access or apply for a scholarship. There’s no guarantee you’ll win, and there are so many other free opportunities you can find.
External scholarships from your home country My first bit of advice is to look for scholarships offered by your home country. Lots of countries have various competitions (especially writing or technology related). Your high school or secondary school teachers are usu- ally aware of these contests, so ask them if they know about any scholarships you can apply for. One website that can also be used to find a lot of these scholarships according to country is
ScholarshipsPlus.com, where you can find a diverse range of contests, scholarships, and grants available with different criteria for each one.
External scholarships from the US My senior year of high school was when I actually started
applying for scholarships outside of my home country, as most required international students to show proof of acceptance or enrollment to a college or university to be eligible. When I went deeper into my scholarship search, I found I could have possibly applied for many more scholarships if I took it more seriously early on. Some of my favorite scholarship websites include:
JLV College Counseling: This is one of the most organized websites I’ve found. Scholarships are put into categories (including a special category for international students!), with deadlines and requirements of each scholarship clearly stated.
Scholarships360: As with the previous resource, this site has deadlines and clearly listed categories. In addi- tion, you have the ability to save scholarships on this website, and you can keep a streak for how many schol- arships you apply for.
Scholarship Owl: You have to create an account in order to use this website. There’s a free and premium version available. The free version still provides a wide range of awards to apply for with upcoming deadlines.
Chegg: I love Chegg because of how versatile it is. Beyond scholarships, it’s also a useful tool for finding cheap textbooks to buy or rent as well as study materials for university.
IEFA: This is a very international student–friendly web- site where you can find scholarships based on your home country. Most of the scholarship opportunities are yearly
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awards, so if you miss a deadline, you can always try again next year.
International Scholarships: Just like IEFA, this web- site is strictly for international students. However, some scholarships can only be applied for based on the coun- try you’ll be attending university in.
Student Scholarship Search: You must enter per- sonal information such as your grade, age, ethnicity, etc. to properly utilize this website. It helps students avoid the stress that comes with searching for scholar- ships by selecting the appropriate ones for you based on your inputs.
Affording university may seem like an uphill climb, but with hard work and dedication, you can win loads of scholarships to make paying for your education easier. Don’t give up, and best of luck!
Oluwafeolami Awe-Joseph is a CollegeXpress Student Writer enrolled at Ithaca College in New York State.
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